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Wisdom for Life: Wise Words | Louis Kotze
The document discusses the nature of proverbs as concise statements of truth, emphasizing their poetic qualities such as parallelism and hyperbole. It includes biblical references that highlight the power of words, illustrating how wise and foolish speech can lead to vastly different outcomes. The essence of wisdom is portrayed as the ability to treasure knowledge and the consequences that arise from one's speech.
Wisdom for Life: Wise Words | Louis Kotze
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- 4. PROVERBS • A proverbis a highly concentrated statement of truth. • Poetry • Parallelism • Hyperbole
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- 6. Proverbs 18:21 NLT Thetongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.
- 7. Proverbs 10:13-14 NLT Wisewords come from the lips of people with understanding, but those lacking sense will be beaten with a rod. Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites disaster.
Editor's Notes
- #2 Teaser: Are you a good communicator? Are you able to put into words what is in your heart and able to understand what others are saying? Can the book of Proverbs help us improve our communication? Quotes: “The words we use shape us and the world we live in” “God is the greatest communicator.” “The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.” Tony Robbins
- #5 A proverb is a highly concentrated statement of truth. Short pithy memorable statement. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Look before you leap. Discretion is the greater part of valor." Sometimes it's important to know when to give up and run away, instead of always acting brave and maybe getting hurt. Hebrew poetry is characterized by brevity in line length, parallelism, and figurative language. Fee & Stuart offer the following caution when it comes to interpreting the Proverbs: A proverb is a brief particular expression of a truth. The briefer the statement is, the less likely it is to be totally precise and universally applicable. We know that long, highly qualified, elaborate statements of fact are not only difficult to understand, but virtually impossible for most people to memorise. So the proverbs are phrased in a catchy way, so as to be learnable by anyone. Parallelism - A common literary feature of Hebrew poetry in the Old Testament is called parallelism, in which the words of two or more lines of text are directly related in some way. Pro 1:20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; Synonymous Parallelism – Pro 18:7 A fool's mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul. Antithecal Parallelism - Pro 18:23 The poor man utters supplications, But the rich man answers roughly. Hyperbole is a common element in Proverbs, which explains why so many are misinterpreted. Hyperbole is a deliberate exaggeration made in order to make a point. Pro 21:22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty And brings down the stronghold in which they trust. Difference between rhythm and meter: Rhythm is where you have accents or beats while meter is where those accents or beats are predictable. Hebrew poetry does not have predictable beats or accents and do not rhyme, the most common characteristic is parallelism.
- #6 A two way information sharing process which involves one party sending a message that is easily understood by the receiving party. Businessdirectory.com
- #7 Why does words have so much power? Without words little can be done and what is in us will not come out. The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives. Tony Robbins We use words to speak with ourselves. We have an inner voice that forms and shapes what is in our hearts. Our words are the fruits of our thoughts; Luke 6:45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. We also use words to speak to others and they use words to speak with us. The words we use shapes us and the world we live in. Prov 12:18 “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” (Have you noticed that sword and words are the same letters arranged differently.) Your words eithers hurt or bring healing, but your words always have consequences, they always leave a mark. The feelings we have for others once spoken will direct our behavior as well as the other persons. If we love someone and tell them we add new momentum to our love and their behaviour will also be affected. So we must be careful what we say and sometimes nothing must be said. But Pro 10:18 says “Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool.” Does this mean we must say whatever is on our hearts, no if we have strong feelings it is helpful to talk about it to God and perhaps in accountability to another but the best may be to never say anything. Our problem is that we struggle with words, we struggle to say what we feel and we struggle to hear others. But we need to speak and we need to be spoken to. God is the great communicator. In the trinity is perfect communication that has been made extended to us. Through the Bible God revealed Himself, He tells us who He is, He wants us to know Him, to not just know about Him or wonder but to Know Him. Therefore He sent His Son to be the unmistakable revelation of who He is. Heb 1:1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. Heb 1:2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son. Jesus became like us and came and lived among us, shared our temptations and pain so that there could be no misunderstanding. Jesus is the Word of God, the Logos, the very communication of God. Even His name Jesus Christ is communication to us; Jesus meaning Salvation and Christ the Anointed or Chosen One.
- #8 Wise Communication is not because of discipline or skill firstly it is firstly about gaining understanding and to treasure knowledge. The fool is not a dumb nitwit nor is the wise a clever person. The fool is the one who lives without God and the wise is the one who commits all their ways to the Lord. When we receive communication from God and allow Him to tell us what is real and what is true about Him, ourselves, others and the universe then we can start speaking wisdom. It is not about being eloquent, even the rocks will cry out. It is about being filled with Him and His Word. Jas 3:1 Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. 3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. 7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can't draw fresh water from a salty spring. We must practice self censorship. What are your words saying about you? Are your words salted with grace and crafted in Truth?